freeline-106 - Flipbook - Page 162
DAVEBURKHILL
IAN
HYDE
a n d thankfully it turned b efo re i t g o t p a st t h e p o i n t . I t s t aye d
d e ep and plodded around th e bay fo r a fe w m i n u te s be fo re
c o ming to the surface aro u n d 3 0 ya rd s o ut . I c o u l d s e e i t wa s
a common and a big o ne. I k n e w i t wa s o n e o f th re e f i s h , a l l
m onsters, and I was then ve r y n e r vo u s a s t h e f i s h wa l l owe d
towards me.
I was very cautious not to l o s e t h i s mo n s te r f i s h , a n d f in a l ly
i t came into reach and I n e t te d i t . A s I l o o ke d u p o n my p ri z e ,
I c ouldn’t believe the size o f i t . I c he c ke d b o t h s i d es o f t h e
f i s h and they were clean, m ea n i n g o n e t hi n g : i t wa s t h e B i g
Co mmon, the biggest fish i n th e l ake , a 5 0 -p lu s f i sh . I c o u l d n’ t
b e lieve it! The first thing I d i d wa s Fa ce t i me my 1 1- ye ar- o l d
s o n, who didn’t believe me t i l l I s h owe d hi m my p r i z e . S h e we n t
a massive 51lb 12oz and a n e w l ake re co rd . I wa s p ro p e rly
s h aking holding suc h an a ma z i n g f i s h .
I t was soon teatime, so I a te my g ru b a n d d e c i d e d a re c a s t
was in order. I thought I’d f i s h t wo ro d s ove r t h e l e f t s p o t . I
p u t the left hand rod aroun d 1 0 / 1 5 f t ove r to t h e l e f t , a n d I p u t
i t on my pod for the line to f u lly s i n k, t he n re c a s t t h e m i d d l e
ro d to the tall birch tree a n d a ga i n re ste d i t o n t h e p o d . A s I
d i d that , the left rod rippe d o f f , an d t h i s f i s h was s o p owe rf u l ,
i t ran me ragged. I’ve neve r h a d a f i s h r u n s o p owerf u l ly ! A f te r
what left like a lifetime, i t wa s f i n a lly re a dy to b e n e t te d ,
a n d again it looked massive . O n c e o n t h e ma t , I u nwra p p e d i t
a n d instantly knew it was a f i s h c al l ed S ca r, wh i c h h a d d o n e
3 8 /39lb b efore. Well, thi s t i me i t ti p p ed th e s c a l e s a t 40 l b
2 o z, a new PB mirror.
Going in to my last night , I d ec i d e d to p u t al l o f my re m ai n i n g
b o ilies out – 2.5kg over my n ow t wo sp o t s. It wa s a q u i e t n i gh t
a gain, which isn’t unusual o n t hi s la ke . A s I wa s hav i ng my
FREELINE 30
